The quarterly dinner meeting of the Adams County Amateur Radio Society was held on Tuesday evening, September 1st, at Hoss’s Steak & Sea House, on York Road in Gettysburg. The meeting was called to order at 7:05 pm.
The quarterly dinner meeting of the Adams County Amateur Radio Society was held on Tuesday evening, December 1st, at Hoss’s Steak & Sea House, on York Road in Gettysburg. The meeting was called to order at 7:15 pm, with 15 in attendance (Barbara Baller, Paul Benyeda, Dominic & Mary Bonitatis, Warren Brockett, Elliot Hartzell, Riley Hollingsworth, Craig and Connie Hutchison, Brian Koenig, Don & Carolann Schmitt, Jack Weber, Tom Williams, Perry Wood).
Out of the Past
50 Years Ago
You may punch a telephone number someday, rather than dial it. The Bell
Telephone Laboratories say it is being tried out on home and office phones in
Connecticut and Illinois and, if it works out, could be adopted generally.
The system consists of 10 buttons - three horizontal rows of three each with a
zero-operator button at the bottom. The new method is much faster.
Effective August 17, W1AW, the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station, will replace its AMTOR and ASCII transmissions with PSK31 and MFSK16, respectively. RTTY (Baudot) will continue to be the first digital mode used in the transmission schedule. The frequencies used by W1AW for all its digital transmissions will remain the same. "All regular 6 PM and 9 PM (Eastern Time) digital transmissions will begin with RTTY," said W1AW Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q. "PSK31 and MFSK16 will be sent as time allows. The Tuesday and Friday Keplerian data bulletins will be sent using RTTY and PSK31." The W1AW operating schedule, complete with times and frequencies, can be found on the ARRL Web site. [W1AW Schedule]
Operating a two-way radio mobile in Philadelphia may cost you $75 a pop beginning December 1 thanks to a new cell phone law in effect in the City.
While the purpose of the law is to discourage the use of cell phones while driving there is a clause which prohibits the use of a wireless communication device for voice communication while operating a motor vehicle on any street in the City. Hands free operation is permitted.
An article in the Philadelphia Inquirer quotes a 9th District Police Officer saying there are some exceptions to the new law. If your device is hands free. If you are calling 911. If you are using a two-way radio to conduct official business for the city, state, or feds. Otherwise the law says to put the car in 'park' or 'neutral.'
Local hams have been in touch with ARRL Volunteer Counsel to get their opinion of the bill. More information on the bill can be found in the Holmesburg Amateur Radio Club November newsletter.
On Monday, December 14, S 1755 -- The Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Enhancement Act of 2009 -- passed the Senate by unanimous consent; the bill now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration. Sponsored by Senator Joe Lieberman (ID-CT), and Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), S 1755, if passed, would direct the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to undertake a study on emergency communications. S 1755 points out that "There is a strong Federal interest in the effective performance of Amateur Radio Service stations, and that performance must be given -- (A) support at all levels of government; and (B) protection against unreasonable regulation and impediments to the provision of the valuable communications provided by such stations."
Read the full story at http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/12/15/11247/?nc=1
Starting November 1, Perry Wood, WB3JKT, taught a seven week Technician License class to eight students (Kevin Biesecker, Jonathan Biesecker, Samuel Biesecker, Brendon Craig, Luke Curren, Peter Diaz, Ryan Laughman, William Sipling) at the Biglerville home of Kevin Biesecker. On December 14, the students took their Technician exam at the Adams County EOC. The VE's for the exam were coordinated by Don Schmitt, K3DCS. Seven of the eight passed their Tech exam.
That is all for now. Please send me any content you would like to see in the next newsletter. I am tentatively considering to publish the next newsletter after the March 2010 dinner meeting.
73,
Perry Wood
WB3JKT